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Do you really want to rake the leaves this year? Probably not unless you're desperate for exercise after your Zumba class got cancelled.

Maybe you are more of a leaf-blower type of person anyhow?

As a side note - don't you just love watching kids jump in a pile of leaves? Such joy.

But I digress.

Here's 10 fantastic ways to get those leaves to work for you instead of you doing all the work!

1.) Mow the leaves and lawn one last time....

This is by far my favorite option which is why it goes first.

Tom borrows our neighbor's lawn mower for one last late-season mowing. Not only does our lawn look ready for winter but the mower chops up those leaves. Poof. Gone. No need to rake.

Now that fall is here, we set the blades lower than usual so the grass is cut shorter than in summer. After all, the weather is cooler and we are getting more rain. No fear that we'll kill the lawn.

Cutting the grass a tad shorter also increases air circulation while discouraging fungal diseases. This method works particularly well if your leaves are small or medium-sized.

This reduces the need for fertilizers. If you do notice any clumps of leaves or grass that didn't get evenly dispersed, you'll want to spread them out before the snow comes so you don't kill your lawn.

2.) Do nothing with your leaves ~ let them be!

Yup. You heard that right. One option is to do absolutely nothing with your leaves. No raking. No leaf-blowing. Why create a problem where there isn't one?

This is especially true if you live way out in the country with few neighbors. Who cares what happens to the leaves? No one will be bothered by them.

Leaves decompose quickly and feed organic matter to the soil.

But I live in suburbia. When those strong gusts of wind come up, all my leaves head straight to the neighbors fence. Then they would have to deal with them. Not exactly fair.

We love that fence. It blocks a super busy road protecting my kids and pets from harm.

So the "do nothing" isn't an option for Tom and I but hopefully it's a choice for you!

3.) Rake the leaves over the roots of your trees & shrubs

Ever go on a hike in the woods and look down on the ground? That wonderful black material on the forest floor is called "humus." Broken down leaves are the ideal form of compost, created to serve the trees.

And the best thing you can do for your trees and shrubs is to cover their roots with their own decomposing leaves.

The "community of organisms" that evolve in naturally composted plant material are exactly right for the needs of those plants. Local compost for the local plants.

4.) Mulch the flower beds

Your chopped up leaves are the ideal mulch for all gardens. And it's free mulch.

It's best not to mulch around the crowns of plants until the ground has frozen because it can encourage fungal growth (bleh) or invite rodents to nest there. We've had a problem with rodents in the past! Bunnies are cute but only up to a point.

As soon as the ground does freeze, spread the leaves around the plants up to 3 inches thick!

5.) Make a leaf pile and leave it

This option is for the kids, folks!

Don't hesitate to make a large leaf pile in a convenient spot in your lawn. After all, a leaf pile is basically a compost pile and we love compost!

As long as your pile is strictly leaves (no stinky food compost, please!) it won't smell or attract rats. And yes, we wrote the books on rats. Holy moly infestation but I'll save that post for another day.

Cover your pile with a tarp or just let it sit. If you do cover it with a tarp, feel under the pile in a few months and you'll likely discover heat, even in the midst of winter! This shows that decomposition happens in real life.

One steamy tip? Savvy gardeners place this leaf pile where they desire to create a new garden bed the following year.

Before you cover your leaf pile with a tarp...let the kids jump in it a few times. Okay, maybe a couple of hundred times first!

6.) Create a leaf pile and cage it

The cheapest way to do this is to use chicken wire, pallets or boards to enclose your heap of leaves. Kind of like a temporary compost bin.

Decomposition works best in a compost bin at least 4-by-4-by-4-by feet. But bigger is always better!

If you don't want to cage your pile, then just throw a tarp over the pile and let it do the decomposition work. You'll feel the heat under the tarp to know it's working.

7.) Begin full scale composting like a champ

Composting is great for you, the garden and the eco-system. We all win when we compost by keeping scraps that would otherwise end up in landfills.

You can make your own bin or purchase one at a decent price. This is the compost bin we use and love! When we did have a rat infestation (long story) the "Rat Man" from the local government agency said this bin saved us from complete and utter disaster!

If you choose to make your own, why not build one out of free pallets for a more permanent structure?

It will be refreshing to have a universal place to put your veggie and fruit scraps, shredded paper, manure from farm animals, coffee grounds and eggshells.

What you never want to do is to add food scraps with meat or fats to your compost bin. You will attract rats and other rodents from miles away!

Check the rules of your town or village before creating a compost bin. Better safe than sorry!

Tom and I wanted to be able to add lots of food scraps to our bin without any risk of attracting rodents, we got ones with screw-on lids.

8.) Use the leaves for sheet composting in your raised beds or perennial flower beds

Tom and I am passionate about smothering weeds with cardboard. Then we pile roughly 3-5 inches of compost on top allowing it all to break down in the long haul.

It certainly allows us to start the season off right the following year. Weedless. Yay!

One spectacular option for your leaves it to dispose of all your leaves in the garden and cover them with either newspaper or cardboard. You can do this in your raised beds, perennial beds or any garden planted directly in the ground.

Then you layer compost or mulch on top. Not only will the weeds be smothered but you'll add organic matter back into the soil. Everyone wins.

In spring, the goal is to be able to plant directly in the soil when you turn it under. It's a good idea to spread tarps over the compost to allow that decomposition to happen even faster.

When those big gust of wind come up in winter it's smart to lay rocks or bricks at the corner of each tarp to keep them in place until spring.

9.) Bag and store your leaves for down the road use

If you aren't ready to use the leaves just as they are, you can always bag the leaves in sturdy garbage bags and hide them behind a shed or on an unseen side of your house.

Poke numerous holes in the bag for aeration or they may get soggy and stinky by spring.

In the course of time, magic happens inside those black garbage bags as decomposition takes place. You will eventually have black compost or at least semi-decomposed leaves to turn back into the soil for nourishment.

Black compost gold! Tom and I love adding this leaf compost back into our depleted soil.

My experience is that is takes at least 2 years for the leaves to fully break down in the garbage bag. Sometimes it even takes a 3 full years for the leaves to fully decompose. But when they do, you're gonna be thrilled!

It you would like to decrease that time span, chop the leaves up with your lawn mower first and then place them in garbage bags for decomposition to occur.

Secret Code: Spice

10.) Kick em to the curb....

If none of the above options are working for you, there's only one thing to do. Rake or blow those leaves to the curb and let the town deal with them.

To level with you 100%, when my kids see leaves in the street raked by the meticulous homeowner, they are unable to resist temptation and jump in your pile! So I apologize ahead of time.

And for those of you who bag your leaves? Yep. Guilty is charged. Tom and I will haul your bagged leaves away in our mini-van for future use in our garden. So thanks for bagging them for us!

How do you deal with leaves?

We have the same problem with leaves blowing all over creation since it's so windy where we live. So we bought a big whipper/grinder machine a couple of years ago to whip our leaves apart into mulch. We set the machine up on a tarp so we can easily drag the leaves to wherever in the yard we want to spread them out. Easy and fun. And who doesn't love free mulch?

Reply

Laura

10/25/2018 02:38:14 pm

I would love a grinder machine if they are not too expensive. Free mulch would be the absolute best!! What a great idea.

Great post, thanks. Our leaves are starting to get a little crazy. We try to be good about raking or mulching them.

Reply

Joanna

11/1/2018 08:01:04 am

I don't rake any leaves. I have a situation where I just mow them and blow them into the beds that I want mulched. It is a lot easier that way. Great article. Thank you!

Reply

GT

11/1/2018 09:48:38 am

Thanks for the great composting tips!

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Ellen

11/1/2018 09:58:04 am

I always mow my leaves.

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Charlene Drake

11/1/2018 11:38:59 am

Don't worry about leaves anymore....Hurricane Harvey took my 10 trees! Not a solution for everyone ;-)

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Betsy Pauzauskie

11/1/2018 04:44:29 pm

We mulch mow our leaves, simultaneously collecting them with the baggers on our lawn tractor. Then, we compost the leaves, burning those that don't fit in the pile. We use the remains of burned leaves in our garden as well. Thanks for all the options you presented! I must use cardboard in vegetable gardening! And, I do want to avoid rodents & hadn't thought about meat & fat attracting them. Nice heads up! However, all bunnies are welcome here! :)

Reply

Robert T

11/1/2018 04:45:30 pm

I tend to bag my leaves when mowing. This autumn I will mulch instead. I always heard mulching provided more nutrients to the ground.

This brings back memories of when we had our compost pile. I loved seeing everything transform into rich soil.

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Michelle Proper

11/2/2018 10:42:12 am

I add them to my compost and they break down so quickly and give me beautiful FREE compost. I get sad when I see garbage bags full of leaves at curbs :( Also wanted to tell you I goofed on the pinterest one. My pinterest name is micpro...wouldn't let me correct it. Thanks :)

Reply

Elicia P

11/2/2018 11:03:16 am

I personally like to mulch them up with the lawn mower.. My husband on the other hand just likes to scoop them up and put them in city trash.

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Rachel Mertz

11/2/2018 11:53:04 am

I love all of these great ideas! We always cover our plants with leaves and compost. However, we have many trees and therefore, have many leaves. The city has a leaf truck that comes to take leaves each week.

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Robyn Eaton

11/2/2018 01:06:04 pm

Thanks for the tips.

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Gina N.

11/2/2018 01:34:12 pm

Love the idea of using the leaves as mulch for the flower beds. Great and helpful post. Thanks.

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donna porter

11/2/2018 03:04:15 pm

My husband uses our leaves for mulch. We put in our garden area and in our flower beds.

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Julie Waldron

11/2/2018 03:10:50 pm

We mow our leaves.

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Mary W

11/2/2018 03:11:10 pm

I am so glad you wrote this important article. We use leaves in the many ways you described here. Truly they are black gold!

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Susan P.

11/2/2018 03:55:35 pm

I don't have much of a leaf problem but these ideas and methods are good to know.

We mow with mulching mowers and use them in the garden and the worm beds.

Reply

JOHN KENNEDY

11/3/2018 09:01:37 pm

I rake, pile and compost every year..use it in the gardens,or where needed.

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Tracy Pfromm

11/3/2018 09:43:33 pm

I use leaves for mulch around the base of perennials. I don't use the black walnut leaves, those I put out for the city to pick up.

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Kathy zolondek

11/4/2018 07:58:47 am

I've never been successful with composting or gardening but with your tips and guides, I feel that this fall the leaves will work for me and in the spring, the garden will be ready to till. Another Brooklyn girl ready to raise those vegetables.

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Kathy Mcclanahan

11/4/2018 03:51:32 pm

We clear off a spot and mow so that we won't mix leaves with grass which I don't want in my beds. Then we gather the thickest clump of leaves and mulch them with the mower. Those go in the beds and the compost pile and the balance are left to break down and feed the lawn!

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Sonya Allstun

11/5/2018 10:07:05 pm

Wow some good info. I have an overflow of leaves. If you have ALOT of them and like me have a problem with poison ivy I pile huge piles to smother the vines out

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Deborah Waddell

11/7/2018 10:58:38 am

Great information!

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patricia caradonna

11/8/2018 02:20:04 pm

I love your giveaways. Fall is one of my favorite times of the year. I remember raking the leaves when I lived up north as a kid and jumping in them.

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Sandy Klocinski

11/10/2018 03:29:22 pm

I don't have much trouble with leaves since the trees I have are just small ones of the ornamental variety. Those are some awesome composting tips though. Thanks for sharing all of the options

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Liz Kilcher

11/10/2018 03:50:13 pm

we mulch the leaves so they can enrich the soil again

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Karo Navarro

11/10/2018 11:35:27 pm

I always use leave in the yard to block weeds, never toss them

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Ronald Ash

11/13/2018 09:58:33 pm

Cool page very informative.

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Carol Yemola

11/18/2018 07:51:48 pm

Leaves make great compose. We put them in our garden and then turn it over in the fall and again in the spring.

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Sandra Watts

11/18/2018 09:02:29 pm

I don't do much with my yard leaves. I heard they are good right where they are so I leave them. Tried composting but still need work at that.

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cathy s.

11/18/2018 10:26:11 pm

Ok, I do like the do nothing option,but how do you know if it’s too thick a layer. I guess i’ll Stay with the mow grass and leaves together.

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Crystal Abel

11/19/2018 08:35:46 pm

we compost our leaves! they make excellent soil.

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vickie allbright

11/26/2018 11:02:34 pm

i love some of these tips they are all great esp the ones i am gonna be able to use thank you

Reply

Laura

12/3/2018 05:08:25 pm

Great options! We live so far south that we don't have issues with leaves. They don't even fall off of the trees. :)

Reply

Geraldlee Verwolf

12/5/2018 09:37:57 am

Thanks for the great reading, i would love to compost but now sure I can handle the turning part

Reply

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﻿﻿Hi, I'm Laura and hail from Western New York. I consider myself a lifelong learner who loves gardening with a 360 degree view. Thanks for stopping by!﻿

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